The evening of December 2nd, 1907
by Sam Pembroke
Summary: Rose has been admitted into the hospital. Can her mother and twin sister get through it? Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

"Emily, why don't you go lie down upstairs for a few minutes?" Ruth said rather firmly, but it was almost like a front, for her voice quivered with sadness. The child turned and looked into the woman's green eyes; her piercing, mesmerizing emerald green eyes. Like a snake that mesmerizes its prey. "Yes Mrs. Bukater." was all she said. Ruth looked into her eyes, blue as lapis lazuli much like her husband's. How she hated to see her daughter like this, especially when they were meant to be together like the twins that they are. Almost without delay, Emily walked up the stairs quickly. She opened the door to the room she had been sleeping in since June, and flung herself onto the bed in a fit of tears. "Rose is dead!" she kept yelling over and over. Suddenly it seemed as though that had opened the floodgates, and soon more thoughts turned into sentences. Soon Emily was heard shouting "Rose, I could not save you this time. For this, I'm truly sorry. Consider me your murderer." Emily was in the midst of bawling her eyes out when suddenly, the door opened; it was Ruth.

Ruth looked at the mass of flaming red hair laying face first on the bed. "How pathetic she looks, crying over her sister. Poor thing." she thought to herself. Emily didn't look up as she felt a hand touching her hair, pulling the ribbon out of it, and soon that hand was going back and forth stroking ever so gently. "It's okay Emily, Rose will be okay." Ruth said in a calm, gentle tone as though Emily were an infant who needed to be soothed after a good cry. Emily turned her head. Her tears had indeed stained her face and the coverlet that was on her bed. Tears kept coming, although not as fast as they had been. Ruth touched Emily's face, pulling her into an embrace that involved gentle words. Had she still been at home, her mother would've left her to cry, telling her that that was what "babies do" and that she was a "big girl." Ruth herself began to cry; something she would never do in front of her children, for she had to be strong for them. As they embraced each other, whispering that it would all be okay; Ruth looked at the clock on Emily's bedside table. "Emily, surely you're hungry?" She asked, desperately. Emily nodded her head only slightly.

Her soup arrived, and she ate it ever so quickly. She hadn't noticed the small cup of medicine sitting on her table. "Emily, you must take this." Ruth said in a gentle tone. Emily looked at the cup containing the two white pills. "I don't want to; mama makes me take it all the time. I take it at school as well; I don't want to take it tonight, not ever. It makes me someone I'm not." She said as tears began to fall again. Ruth, sensing that she didn't want to kick Emily when she was already down, said "Okay dear, but you must rest. This will help you sleep, your mother informed me of this when you arrived last summer." Emily looked at Ruth and sighed. She was right. These pills were the ones that she would rather take over the ones she had in the morning; those pills calmed her down and made her less excitable, something her mother did not like to be, especially now that she was twelve, soon to be thirteen. Soon Emily was changed out of her school frock and into her nightclothes. "Sleep well Emily." Ruth said as she helped Emily lie down on her bed. A kiss was in order, and the light was turned off. It was going to be a long and uneasy night.


	2. What Emily saw

The day had been awful, she had to admit that. First, it was waking up to a cold room, something that Emily couldn't stand for in the least. Next, it was at breakfast. Ms. Allen had reprimanded her sister for talking too loudly, and as punishment, Emily had to sit at the other end of the table for something she hadn't done. Surely, she thought her day couldn't get any worse. Perhaps the largest upset of the day came in Grammar when Millicent King, perhaps the biggest brat in the school stole Emily's pen and inkwell. This incident caused a few tears, but it was nothing compared to what she had just witnessed. Emily had come back from retrieving her pen and inkwell when she had bumped into Rose. The two had begun talking when it happened.

Rose went tumbling down the stairs in a way that surely would have snapped her neck and killed her. "Rose! No!" Emily shouted at the top of her lungs; but it was no use. Rose lay at the bottom of the stairs, blood issuing from her mouth. Quicker than a flash of lightning, Emily was at her sisters side, holding her head on her lap telling her that it would be ok. She held Rose's hand tightly and then Rose went out. By now, Emily was crying harder than any other time, even harder than the tantrum she had when she found out that she had to go away to school. Emily gently lay Rose's head back on the floor and put her hand back at her side. She noticed that Rose's skirt had come up some revealing her knickers and slip; she pulled the skirt back down for decency. Just then, Allison Coburn arrived.

The look upon Allison's face was of pure horror. "What happened? What happened to Rose?" She asked, rather worried. Allison and Rose had known each other since they were six years old. They were neighbors, but unlike Rose's family; Allison's father had divorced her mother. Emily looked at Allison and barked "Go get Ms. Allen! Now!" Allison went to fetch the headmistress. Emily sat on the stairs and began to cry again. How would she explain this? If only Millicent King had stuck around to finish her off too. "Oh Rose, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you! I'm your murderer!" Emily wailed. Soon, Ms. Allen and Allison were at the scene. Emily didn't look up to see the headmistress, she just continued to cry. Suddenly, Emily felt a hand on her shoulder; it was Ms. Allen. "Dear, crying about it won't help her. She's in god's hands now child." This didn't seem to make Emily feel any better, if anything, it made her cry harder.

An ambulance arrived, the doctors entered with a stretcher. These men must have been medical personnel in the New England War. When they carefully laid her on the stretcher, two men ripped Rose's uniform off, exposing Rose's white cotton undergarments. Ms. Allen tried to hide Allison and Emily's eyes, but they watched in a stupor, and even Allison, who tried her best to hide her emotion finally broke down into massive sobs. Ms. Allen then though of something else: Elizabeth. "Allison, would you take Elizabeth home? I'm going to call Mrs. Bukater anyways to let her know what has happened, and that you'll be taking her youngest home. She doesn't need to know what transpired here. Emily, the doctors are motioning for you to go with them. You had better go." Emily did something that she had always been told never to do, esecially at school: She hugged Ms. Allen. "Go child, be with Ms. Bukater; she needs you in her hour of need. You are a hero."

Emily climbed into the ambulance with Rose. How cold she looked lying under that thin blanket, her expensive navy blue uniform in tatters; and her brilliant white slip with contrasting black stockings lay exposed to the world, for all to see. The tears continued to fall for Emily. "I love you" she whispered to her twin lying on the stretcher. How peaceful, yet tormented Rose looked. Emily caressed Rose's cheek. This brought another thought into her head: The argument that she had with her sister just the day before. They were going back to school after the Thanksgiving holiday. It had started off between Ruth and Rose, but soon Emily took her mother's side. In a way, this crushed Rose. Ruth had been the "enemy" many times before, but this took the cake. The sense of betrayal was strong, and they shared some terse words when they arrived back at school on Sunday night. But that was all gone now. She gently embraced Rose without hurting her further. One of the doctors pulled her away saying "Miss, you'll hurt her even more, then you won't have her."

They arrived at Bellvue Hospital, and the doctors ordered Emily off into the waiting area. Once inside, she wandered amongst the seats and tables. Ahead she saw a familiar face: Ruth. She ran up to her and the two embraced. Ruth stroked her hair and quietly said words of assurance, such as "Oh Emily, it's going to be okay." or even "Rose is a fighter, she'll make it. Don't cry dear, it'll all be okay." If anything that there was to say about Ruth, people would assume that she was stern and was a taskmaster. If they spent just one minute, or even one day in the house, they'd find that those assumptions would be false. Ruth deeply loved her children, often encouraging Rose to play make believe, just like she did when she was younger. If she lost Rose, she'd be finished, not financially or socially, but emotionally. The events that took place today reminded Ruth and stung her in the heart, just like the time her first child, Alice died six months before Rose and Emily were born. Ruth knew that the coming days and months would be hard. She hugged Emily closer. 


End file.
